Methods of structure assignment and document element search in electronic graphical images are known in the art (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,849 issued to Huang on 16 May 1995). Typically, known methods to process fixed forms do not allow for deviations in field arrangement. Thus, when processing such documents as job candidate resumes, scanning software frequently errs in identifying fields such as previous experience, previous accomplishments, and current contact information. Even when the proper fields are located, there is a risk that the shape of certain fields is misidentified and leads to noise in performing recognition within fields and errors in object search while processing images of documents.
These and other shortcomings of the current art are overcome by use of the teachings described herein.